‘Vinyl’ Canceled: HBO Scraps Plans For Revamped Season 2

HBO has changed course on Vinyl. The 1970s rock n roll drama had been renewed for a second season with a new showrunner, Scott Z. Burns, replacing co-creator, executive producer and showrunner Terence Winter. Now the premium cable network has decided not to go with Season 2 of the series, executive produced by Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger.

“After careful consideration, we have decided not to proceed with a second season of Vinyl,” HBO said in a statement. “Obviously, this was not an easy decision. We have enormous respect for the creative team and cast for their hard work and passion on this project.

Cancellation was not based on the work of the new Vinyl creative team of Burns and executive producer Max Borenstein as no scripts for Season 2 had been delivered.

Vinyl has been a big-budget series from A-list auspices and a star cast that had underperformed. “Vinyl didn’t launch in the way we were hoping it would; it’s disappointing, but it happens,” HBO’s outgoing head of programming Michael Lombardo told Deadline last month.

The decision not to continue with Vinyl comes as HBO’s new programming chief Casey Bloys is settling into the job. It will free up resources and help him put his stamp on HBO’s drama output more quickly.

Vinyl had a 20-year development history, with Scorsese and Jagger originally attempting to do it as a movie. When it was set up at HBO in 2010, Winter was brought in as a writer/executive producer.

The big-budget period drama drew soft ratings for its first season, with viewership between 760,000 and 570,000 for a premiere airing.

The series starred Bobby Cannavale as Richie Finestra, a record label president who is trying to save his company and his soul without destroying everyone in his path. Co-starring were Olivia Wilde, Ray Romano, Ato Essandoh, Max Casella, P.J. Byrne, J.C. MacKenzie, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Juno Temple, Jack Quaid, James Jagger and Paul Ben-Victor.

After rocking bisexual roles inThe O.C.andHouse,Olivia Wilde takes another spin on the small screen as a suburban wife and former Warhol muse inVinyl,Martin Scorsese and Terence Winter’s HBO drama about the music industry in 1970s New York, premiering February 14. Here she goes on record about being a wild child with a social conscience.

The Advocate:I interviewed your fiancé, Jason Sudeikis, for this column in 2011. Do you ever argue over who has the bigger LGBT following?Olivia Wilde: [Laughs] I’d happily challenge him, but I would hope I’d win in a landslide. I mean, come on! I’m proud to have played characters who’ve inspired people to live out loud, and I’m lucky to have reached an audience that’s been incredibly enthusiastic and supportive.

You were raised in Washington, D.C. What was your introduction to the LGBT community?
My parents were journalists and friends with writers, artists, and just a really interesting assortment of people, so I was exposed to all lifestyles from a young age. It never occurred to me that some people were seen as wrong or even different. Jason and I certainly have the same attitude with our son. It’s important to us that he lives in New York to get exposure to every type of person, every race, every sexual orientation.

You’ve been vocal in your support of equality. When did you develop that activist spirit?
I went to a very progressive elementary school where I was heavily educated in civil rights. I remember learning about Harvey Milk when I was in sixth or seventh grade and being so inspired. That’s when I was introduced to the idea that we have a social responsibility as citizens to continue the fight for civil rights, and that the power of one individual’s voice is enormous.